Mystics Take Aim At Playoff Berth

SHARON ROBB ON THE WNBA

June 4, 2000|SHARON ROBB ON THE WNBA

Before the season began, Washington Mystics forward Chamique Holdsclaw said that if her team didn't make the playoffs this season, management should clean house.

Then she went out and backed up her bold statement. Holdsclaw scored a career-high 29 points in the Mystics' season-opening 92-66 win against the Orlando Miracle in front of 16,000 fans at the MCI Center. It was the club's first season-opening victory in its three-year history.

Washington was 3-27 in 1998 and 12-20 last season. The Mystics, with Nikki McCray and Holdsclaw, two members of the U.S. women's national team, are one of the most-improved teams in the league with the addition of All-Star Vicky Bullett and draft pick Tausha Mills, known as Baby Shaq because of her 6-foot-2, 225-pound frame.

The playoff field has expanded to eight teams, four per conference, also helping the Mystics. The addition of four expansion teams should also provide some additional wins. Still, after the Mystics lost 47 of their first 63 games, Holdsclaw promises this season will be different or else.

"There's no point in tiptoeing around it," said Holdsclaw, last year's WNBA Rookie of the Year and former Tennessee star. "We are going to make the playoffs this season. If we don't, they ought to get rid of all of us."

The Sol will host Washington on Thursday at 7 p.m. at AmericanAirlines Arena. It will be Women In Business Night. WNBA President Val Ackerman is expected to attend the game and talk with area businesswomen about the league's growth and other pertinent women's business issues before the game at a special cocktail reception.

"Our goal for this year is to grow the core basketball fan, the person who loves the game but may not know much about women's basketball," Ackerman said.

Perrot remembered

Kim Perrot, the former Houston Comets point guard who died of brain cancer Aug. 19, was remembered before the Houston-New York game during the team's championship ring and banner ceremony. Perrot's mother, sister and brother accepted a ring and brought out the team's three championship trophies. When the banner was raised, it read "No. 3 for No. 10," the team's credo last season as it sought to win its third title in honor of Perrot, who wore No. 10. ...

Contrary to a report out of Seattle, the Sol is not one of four teams scrambling to sign a TV deal. Its TV package is in place with Sunshine Network. The Sol, required by the league to televise only six games, is televising eight. The league required all teams to have a TV schedule in place before the season opener Monday. ... Orlando Miracle season-ticket sales have fallen from about 5,000 in 1999 to a little more than 4,000 this season, which was to be expected after the first-year excitement died down. Orlando had 6,890 fans at its home opener against Charlotte, a drop from last year's crowd of 15,422. ...

NBC's broadcast of the WNBA's fourth season opener on Monday between New York and three-time champion Houston, a repeat of last year's league finals, had scored a 2.4 rating, a 14 percent increase over 1999's Washington-Houston season opener rating of 2.1. ...

The WNBA has arrived in gambling circles. According to John Harper of the Las Vegas Sports Consultants, women's basketball has entered the gambling arena. Officials estimated that $4 million was bet on the Connecticut-Tennessee game and $10 million on the women's NCAA Tournament. Now Las Vegas is accepting bets on the WNBA.

The interest has been attributed to the four-year league's television exposure and increased print media coverage. Betting lines are expected to be posted in the next week or two. ...

If there was any doubt Houston is not a clear-cut favorite to win its fourth consecutive title, consider Monday's opener. The Comets missed 14 of 16 shots, turned the ball over six times and allowed the New York Liberty to dictate the tempo. Then the Comets found their rhythm for a 13-2 run.

"There is no pressure when you've won three in a row," Houston coach Van Chancellor said. "Now, if I'd lost three in a row I would be a nervous wreck. I have never seen a team, men or women, boys or girls, pro or college, rise to the occasion like we do when we absolutely have to." "I'm hoping for some sort of miracle from the Lord" to get her back sooner, Utah coach Fred Williams said. ...

Utah point guard Jennifer Azzi said that her surgery (five screws and a plate inserted) for a broken bone in her hand went well and she is rehabbing. She returns to San Jose, Calif., for re-evaluation in two weeks. She is expected to miss 10-15 games. ...

Betty F. Jaynes, the godmother of women's basketball, will be inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday. Jaynes is CEO of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. For information on this weekend's induction ceremony, click on www.wbca.org.

The WNBA has a new promotional campaign out titled "What You Got Spots" that calls for fans to create a 30-second commercial. The idea is for fans, 13 and older, to produce, direct or edit a commercial or write a script or storyboard featuring any one of their favorite WNBA players. Entries are being accepted through July 17. Official rules on the league's Web site at www.wnba.com. ...

Balloting for the league's second WNBA All-Star Game begins Wednesday. The selection process will take place two ways. Fans can vote on the Internet at www.wnba.com, the league's official Web site or at AmericanAirlines Arena during Sol home games against Los Angeles and Phoenix June 23-24. and June 24.